Section IV.3(c) of the Council Bylaws provides that a University Council meeting “shall incorporate an open forum to which all members of the University community are invited and during which any member of the University community can direct questions to the Council.”

All members of the University community are invited to bring issues for discussion to the

University Council Open Forum

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 4–6 p.m. Bodek Lounge, Houston Hall

Individuals who want to be assured of speaking at Council must inform the Office of the University Secretary (ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu) by Wednesday, December 3, 2008. Those who have not so informed the Office of the University Secretary will be permitted to speak only at the discretion of the Moderator of University Council and in the event that time remains after the scheduled speakers.

Please see the format given at right. Questions may be directed to the Office of the University Secretary at (215) 898-7005 or ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu.

—Office of the University Secretary

Format for University Council’s Open Forum

December 10, 2008

The University Council will devote a substantial portion of its December 10, 2008 meeting to a public forum. The purpose of the Open Forum is to inform Council of issues important to the University’s general welfare and of the range of views held by members of the University. The forum is open to all members of the University community under the conditions set by the Bylaws, following guidelines established by the Steering Committee of Council:

1. Any member of the University Community who wishes to do so may attend the Council meeting. Individuals who want to be assured of speaking at Council, however, must inform the Office of the University Secretary (ucouncil@pobox.upenn.edu) by Wednesday, December 3, 2008 indicating briefly the subject of their remarks. Those who have not so informed the Office of the University Secretary will be permitted to speak only at the discretion of the Moderator of University Council and in the event that time remains after the scheduled speakers.

2. Speakers should expect to be limited to three minutes with the possibility of additional time in cases where members of Council engage the speakers with follow-up questions or remarks. The Moderator may restrict repetition of views. Speakers are encouraged to provide Council with supporting materials and/or written extensions of their statements before, during, or after the Council meeting.

3. Following the deadline for speakers to sign up in the Office of the University Secretary, the Chair of Steering and the Moderator of Council will structure the subject matter themes, speakers, and times of the Open Forum session. In the event that there is not enough time available at the meeting to provide for all those who have requested to speak, the two officers may make selections which accommodate the broadest array of issues having important implications for Council’s work and represent the breadth of Council’s constituencies. The resulting order of the Open Forum of University Council will be made available no later than the Tuesday before the meeting, to be published on the Office of the University Secretary website (www.upenn.edu/secretary/council/openforum.html) and, if deadline constraints allow, in the Daily Pennsylvanian and Almanac.

4. Speakers’ statements should be framed so as to present policy issues and directed to University Council as a body through the Moderator. The Moderator will have discretion to interrupt statements that are directed against persons and otherwise to maintain the decorum of the meeting, as provided for in the Bylaws. In cases where questions or positions can be appropriately addressed by members of Council, or where a colloquy would seem to be productive given the time constraints of the meeting, the Moderator may recognize members of Council to respond to speakers’ statements, with opportunities for follow-up by the speakers.